Sustainability Report 2019/2020

Creating tomorrow’s solutions

Work-Life Balance

WACKER offers its employees extensive opportunities to balance their private and professional lives. These include multiple work-time models, childcare assistance, school-vacation support at Burghausen (our largest site) and at Nünchritz, one week of “family time” for parents of children under eight and support for employees caring for relatives. Our company has a wide range of flextime models, including a self-regulated system based on trust (working-time autonomy). Where possible, we offer both full-time and part-time positions. WACKER enables employees to work from home (an option that may be combined with part-time work).

Remote Work

Overarching trends in the working world, such as digitalization and flexible working models, are increasingly influencing work structures at WACKER. They call for greater versatility as regards forms of work, especially in exceptional times like the current pandemic.

The pilot projects launched since 2018, and the subsequent company agreements on remote work for employees at head office and our Consortium research facility in Munich and at our sales office in Stuttgart, were extended until 2021. After obtaining approval from their supervisors, employees have the opportunity of performing an agreed portion of their work remotely. In this way, we are enabling them to work wherever and whenever they want and moving in sync with the all-pervading trend: the digital transformation. During the coronavirus pandemic, we have protected the health of our employees by allowing them to work from home, provided the type of work they perform is suitable and their supervisors agree.

Our employees have access to a variety of leave options and part-time models for personal situations, such as providing care for family members with serious health conditions, pursuing further education or taking a sabbatical. Unpaid leaves of absence are possible for periods of up to two years; for the duration of the Shape the Future efficiency program, that can also be extended up to four years. These arrangements are based on company agreements and on the “Working Life and Demography” collective-bargaining agreement, and offer employees a wide range of options for balancing their careers with different stages of their lives.

We actively support childcare services and a return to work after maternity/paternity leave, e.g. by offering reintegration workshops. At most of our sites, a service provider helps find places for children in kindergartens and day care centers or provides support in finding alternative care options. Whether employees themselves or family members fall ill or need nursing care, employees in Germany can obtain advice from a consultation service.

WACKER’s membership in the Familienpakt Bayern (Family Pact Bavaria) network (German-language website only) sponsored jointly by the Bavarian state government and Bavarian industry, highlights its goal of fostering a family-friendly corporate culture.

Part-Time Employees1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2020

 

2019

 

2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part-time employees, WACKER Germany

 

3,196

 

3,043

 

3,013

Of whom female

 

1,001

 

972

 

921

Of whom male

 

2,194

 

2,070

 

2,092

Part-time employees, WACKER Germany (%)

 

31.6

 

30.1

 

29.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Employees in phased early retirement

 

1,220

 

992

 

916

Of whom in non-active phase

 

506

 

431

 

386

1

Working time < 100 percent

Leave-Of-Absence Options Used by Employees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2020

 

2019

 

2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sabbaticals1

 

73

 

62

 

72

Qualifications2

 

19

 

21

 

32

Care3

 

5

 

3

 

3

Total

 

97

 

86

 

107

1

Sabbatical for personal reasons

2

Advanced training either part-time alongside work or full-time

3

Leave to provide care for a family member with a serious health condition

Employees on Parental Leave, WACKER Germany

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2020

 

2019

 

2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parental leave

 

535

 

550

 

513

Of whom men

 

325

 

309

 

264

Of whom women

 

210

 

241

 

249

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returnees from parental leave

 

402

 

419

 

364

Of whom men

 

310

 

303

 

258

Of whom women

 

92

 

116

 

106

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returnees from parental leave who were still working for the company 12 months later

 

398

 

416

 

357

Of whom men

 

306

 

300

 

254

Of whom women

 

92

 

116

 

103